UNITED NATIONS MUST STILL BE MAIN FORCE FOR GLOBAL PEACE, PRIME MINISTER OF SWEDEN TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Press Release
GA/9099
UNITED NATIONS MUST STILL BE MAIN FORCE FOR GLOBAL PEACE, PRIME MINISTER OF SWEDEN TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
19960925 Guatemala President Hails End of 36-Year Civil Conflict; Peace-keeping, Human Rights, Development, Plight of Children Discussed by Other SpeakersThe world needed a strong United Nations which did not abandon its position as the principal instrument for maintaining international peace and security, the Prime Minister of Sweden told the General Assembly this morning as it continued its general debate. He said he had joined with 15 other heads of State and government today in a statement in support of renewing multilateralism.
President Alvaro Arzu Irigoyen of Guatemala told the assembly that after 36 years of armed conflict, his country was close to achieving peace. He acknowledged the diverse and unified support Guatemala had received from the United Nations in reaching the peace at hand and facing the recovery ahead.
Peace-keeping remained the central function of the United Nations under the terms of the founding Charter, said Herve de Charrette, Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, citing the "panoply of available instruments", including preventive diplomacy and regional conferences. He expressed the hope that such actions would be applied in Africa's Great Lakes region.
Klaus Kinkel, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, said that in an unjust world, where billions of people had almost no chance of living in conditions worthy of mankind, the United Nations must continue to be the world's conscience. He spoke of the situation in Bosnia and called for world- wide defence of human rights, and told the Assembly, "War criminals like Mladic and Karadzic deserve to be brought before the international tribunal in The Hague".
Qian Qichen, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of China, said that while some developing countries had achieved sustained economic growth, trade protectionism had increased, and attempts had been made to exclude developing countries. Development aid continued to shrink, sustainable development commitments went unmet and more stringent conditions were being attached. Those trends that be reversed by the developed countries.
The Assembly also heard an address by the President of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as a statement by the Foreign Minister of Algeria. The general debate will continue in the Assembly at 3 p.m. today.
Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this morning to hear addresses by the President of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the President of Guatemala. In the continuation of its general debate, the Assembly was also scheduled to hear statements by the Prime Minister of Sweden and Foreign Ministers of Germany, China, France and Algeria.
Statements
KIRO GLIGOROV, President of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, said the current international political and security situation was burdened with cases of blatant violation of international law, uncontrolled hoarding of arms, upsets of the ecological balance, disrespect for human rights, widespread international terrorism, and tensions in the area of economic and social development. As a result, the United Nations was faced with a need to reform its system in order to carry out its functions.
He went on to say that the subject of the Security Council should receive priority during the current session of the Assembly. The conditions for enlargement of the Council were ripe. His country was actively taking part in the working group dealing with the issue of more equitable and numerous representation of the Council. Proposals for including Germany and Japan as permanent members of the Council, as well as for an increase in the number of rotating seats, were realistic. He said the Republic of Macedonia had submitted its candidacy for rotating membership on the Security Council for the 1998-1999 term. His country's demeanour during and following the dissolution of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, its constructive and peaceful policy -- a factor of stability in the Balkans -- its commitment to Europeanization and its involvement in United Nations activities were sufficient to secure support for its candidacy.
He said the Republic of Macedonia, the only one of the former republics to become independent in a peaceful manner, had distinguished itself as a country whose foreign policy was founded on consistent respect for the principles of the United Nations. His country had proposed two resolutions for good-neighbourly relations among the Balkan countries. By one text, his country would host a high-level international meeting of the Balkan countries in January next year, dedicated to advancing stability in the region. The level of democratization achieved by his country, its reforms aimed at adapting to market mechanisms, and its high human rights standards, all confirmed the intentions of the Republic of Macedonia to become fully integrated in international and regional economic and security structures.
He said the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) had set the first positive example of successful preventive diplomacy in the
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history of the Organization, demonstrating the merit of the concept. His country had already requested a continuation of the Force's mandate for an additional six months.
As a peaceful country oriented towards Europe, the Republic of Macedonia remained steadfast in its policy of respect for human and minority rights and for implementation of international standards on the rights of national minorities, he said. In the ethnically inter-mixed Balkans, protection of the rights of national minorities was the most important long-term condition for stable peace and cooperation. His country had proposed a comparative study on national minority rights in the Balkans that would enable much more efficient action on the part of such international institutions as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe and the United Nations.
ALVARO ARZU IRIGOYEN, President of Guatemala, said his country was close to achieving peace. Now was time for reconciliation and a time to take development in hand. To confront poverty, links must be made with the World Trade Organization. Guatemala had worked for the peace at hand and had been assisted by the international community. Support had been received from United Nations agencies, which had joined to propel Guatemala along the road to recovery. For the last five months, there had been no armed confrontation, allowing the peace talks to progress. During this year, it was hoped that the final peace agreement would be initialled, putting an end to an internal armed conflict that had raged for 36 years.
He said that, based on agreements already signed by the parties to the conflict, remarkable success had been achieved in the field of human rights. Also, Guatemala had strengthened the laws offering social support to the indigenous Mayan population and had recently ratified the Convention concerning indigenous and tribal peoples. Now the most difficult task must be addressed, that of peace-building. Peace, he continued, was built in the course of the normal coexistence of people, in which every Guatemalan, female or male, worked to the best of her or his ability to make a living, to support her or his family, in a country still labouring under limitations and distrust. The true enemies of peace -- poverty, discrimination, exclusion, intolerance -- must be overcome. Guatemala must develop the capability of providing integral security for all its people. People must be assured that their children would not die due to neglect or lack of medical attention, stable employment must be available and citizens must have access to an impartial and efficient justice system. Such were aspects of integral security. He said leaders of Central America had taken substantial measures to renew their alliance for sustainable development through their signing in 1995 of the Treaty on Democratic Security. Broad commitments made by the leaders had prepared Central Americans for a full battle against drug trafficking and the trafficking of people.
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For its part, the Government of Guatemala had taken some daring and comprehensive steps, but support from the international community for continued efforts was necessary. The opening of markets and fair pricing for Guatemalan commodities were needed. Foreign investment would contribute to the creation of jobs and the improvement of productive capability. Above all, technical and financial cooperation was needed during the period following the signing of the peace agreement. He expressed gratitude to the efforts of the Secretary-General and to the United Nations which supported the development of peace in his country. Guatemala's deep gratitude went to the countries which constituted the group of friends of the peace process: Colombia, Spain, United States, Mexico, Norway and Venezuela.
KLAUS KINKEL, Foreign Minister of Germany, said the United Nations must continue to be the world's conscience in an unjust world where billions of people had almost no chance of living in conditions worthy of humankind. What other forum could keep watch in order to prevent murder and torture, ensure that refugees have the basic necessities of life, and see that children are protected? he asked.
In Bosnia, free elections had been held for the first time in four years, he continued. However, it had been difficult for the OSCE to supervise the elections. There could be no "permanent international police force" in Bosnia, but for a limited time the country continued to need a "fire brigade". The remainder of a "fire brigade" in Bosnia would demand a fresh Security Council mandate. Germany was willing to provide military contributions to such an operation.
He said, "War criminals like Mladic and Karadzic ... deserve to be brought before the international tribunal in The Hague. Germany calls for the early convening of a conference to establish an international criminal court".
He said Europe had been torn by fratricidal wars for centuries. Its current peaceful unification was a message of hope for the whole world. The special partnership which the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sought with Russia was also of central significance for peace and security in Europe. Russia must be given a place in Europe commensurate with its size and importance.
The European Union, he continued, stood for a global partnership for development and the environment during the coming century. The recipe was free markets, democracy, a reliable judicial system and integration into the global economy.
Germany supported Africa's integration into the world economy and the development of its own capabilities. The United Nations agenda for Africa was a sound foundation for those efforts. In areas such as Africa, regional organizations must assume a larger measure of responsibility, as the United
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Nations could not be the organization of first resort in every conflict situation.
Without social justice and economic progress, it would be impossible to break the vicious circle of poverty, environmental destruction and population explosion, he said. The Stockholm Conference on sexual abuse of children had aroused public opinion. The atrocious way children had been treated was a disgrace to civilization. Every day 35,000 children died of hunger; 12 million children would not live beyond the age of five; 2 million were forced into prostitution; 200,000 were used as soldiers in war; and millions more were as cheap labour.
He said the signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was a momentous step in the process of dispelling the nightmare of a nuclear inferno. The total abolition of all chemical weapons was also of similar consequence. All nations must meet their tremendous responsibility and ratify the chemical weapons Convention as soon as possible. Germany had completely renounced anti-personnel mines and imposed a unilateral, open-ended ban on such exports.
Reform of the Security Council was of the greatest political significance, he said. A large number of Member States were in favour of a permanent seat on the Council for Germany. Action was needed to address the current financial situation of the United Nations. While much reform had been achieved, the need for reform was no justification for refusal to pay contributions.
GORAN PERSSON, Prime Minister of Sweden, said the United Nations, in an era where globalization of societies was irreversible, was currently the subject of criticism and lack of confidence. The setbacks in Somalia, Rwanda and in the former Yugoslavia were not quickly forgotten. But the tasks of the United Nations had not been made easier by Member States refusing to give it adequate resources. Many Members, including some major Powers, still did not pay their contributions fully or on time. The financial crisis and the non- payment of assessed contributions must not be used as an instrument to precipitate reform or as an excuse not to start urgent reform. The possibility of using alternative sources of financing needed further exploration.
While the United Nations had its shortcomings, he said, the world needed a strong global organization -- as a meeting place, as a guardian of international norms, to prevent conflicts and find peaceful solutions, to cope with global threats to human security, as a safeguard against environmental threats, to promote democracy and human rights, and as a focal point for global solidarity. Present inefficiencies in the Organization must be dealt with vigorously and with more financial discipline. The world needed a United Nations which did not abandon its position as the principal instrument for maintaining international peace and security.
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He said he had joined with 15 other heads of State and government in a statement in support of renewing multilateralism, which involved the following commitments: to global multilateral cooperation; to renew and reform the United Nations within a specific time frame; to the Organization as an instrument for sustainable economic and social development; adoption of an integrated approach to security; early action to prevent conflict and man-made disasters; to develop the capacity of regional organizations to act in cooperation with the United Nations.
Sweden was committed to a strong and effective United Nations and was therefore seeking a seat on the Security Council for the 1997-1998 period. It was necessary that small- and medium-sized countries serve on the Council. The principle of rotation of the non-permanent seats was important to Sweden, since it had not served on the Council for the past 20 years. Sweden would contribute to a more efficient United Nations role in the new generation of peace-keeping, and would work for clearer mandates for United Nations operations. His country was taking steps to integrate the training of military and civilian personnel in order to facilitate coordination in the field.
QIAN QICHEN, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of China, said multi-polarity was gaining momentum and major Powers were adjusting their relationships. Developing countries continued to push for a democratic order of peace and equality. Asia's upsurge was affecting global realities. The forces for global peace had been bolstered by louder calls for dialogue and negotiation. Regional efforts to ensure stability continued, and border agreements had been completed between China and many of its neighbours. The past year has seen peace returning to many war-torn countries and regions. Africa was entering a new era of striving for peace, stability and development. However, some countries in Africa remained affected by war, necessitating continued international involvement.
National sovereignty must be respected by equal members of the international community, he said. However, interference in other countries' internal affairs and the wielding of sanctions continued to threaten international peace and security. The expansion of international trade had linked nations and regions and accelerated economic globalization, with some developing countries achieving sustained economic growth. However, trade protectionism had also risen in developed countries, along with attempts to exclude developing countries. While necessary market adjustments could be made on national levels, mutual development should be kept in mind.
Uneven development continued to widen the gap between developed and developing countries, he said. Development aid continued to shrink and more stringent conditions were being attached. Developed countries must reverse those trends in order to promote development and eliminate poverty. Strengthened international cooperation in development was a vital link in efforts towards sustainable development. However, developed countries had not
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lived up to their commitments under Agenda 21 and developing countries were being asked to conduct activities that were beyond their means. It was hoped that those problems would be resolved.
The United Nations must carry out rational reforms, he said. All reforms must support the realization of Charter principles and contribute to the promotion of peace and development. They must conform to the principle of sovereignty of all Member States. The Organization could not function without firm and reliable resources. Those countries in arrears should fulfil their obligations under the Charter.
The adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty represented progress in efforts towards disarmament, he said. However, it was only a first step towards comprehensive nuclear disarmament, with the total elimination of nuclear weapons as the ultimate goal. Major nuclear Powers should renounce the policy of nuclear defence and assume the obligation not to be the first to use nuclear weapons. International negotiations on the complete prohibition and destruction of nuclear weapons should begin.
He said China's economy continued to improve, with an anticipated 10 per cent growth rate this year and inflation at under 10 per cent. A viable socialist economy could be established in China in the future. His country's development would strengthen international peace and security, while a failure to achieve development would risk instability. Preparations were under way for China to become sovereign over Hong Kong. A smooth transition would occur under a model of "one country, two systems". Hong Kong would be administered by the people of Hong Kong and would have a high degree of autonomy.
HERVE DE CHARRETTE, Minister for Foreign Affairs of France, paid tribute to Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his "determination, vision of the future and firmness", which had given the Organization a presence and vitality it had rarely achieved. "He deserves our confidence."
The Foreign Minister said today's world confronted terrible problems, among them the issues of terrorism, crime and drugs. France had hosted a conference on terrorism in Paris last July, and made a solemn appeal to the entire community to join in the fight.
Organized crime, which now made full use of the possibilities opened up by the liberalization of trade, endangered the very foundation of societies and institutions, he said. A firm commitment and effective measures on crimes against children should also be undertaken. Drugs were also a formidable threat, and international cooperation, involving both producer and consumer countries, should be solid. France strongly supported the convening of a special session of the General Assembly devoted to drugs in 1998.
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Peace-keeping remained the central function of the United Nations under the terms of the founding Charter, the Minister continued, citing the "panoply of available instruments", including preventive diplomacy and regional conferences. He expressed the hope that such actions would be applied in Africa' Great Lakes Region.
He said France was gratified that elections could be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the peace process there still had to be consolidated. His country would shortly be hosting an international conference in Paris to examine, and perhaps adopt, a consolidated plan of action by the international community with a 2-year time-frame.
He said the peace process in the Middle East also seemed to be at a crucial stage. A just and balanced agreement between Israelis and Palestinians could not avoid the questions of Jerusalem, the refugees and the settlements in the Palestinian territories. A lasting peace also presupposed that Israel was assured of secure and recognized borders. He said France believed that a complete withdrawal from the Golan Heights in exchange for total peace constituted the basis of an agreement between Syria and Israel. Lebanon should regain full and complete sovereignty over the whole of its territory. Europe should have a place in the peace process, along with the two co-sponsors, commensurate with the major contribution it was making to the region's development.
He spoke of the new European "security architecture", and said that it was in reality a "pillar of peace" -- a process that began with the European Union and was being continued by the deepening of the Union. The European identity, he added, was also based on the reform of the Atlantic alliance, which should permit the emergence of a genuine European security and defence identity within that alliance.
It was also necessary to strengthen the OSCE. Next year's summit of NATO should bring together all European States to demonstrate the community of security interests of all the countries on the continent, including Russia, and the North American allies whose role in European security remained decisive. He said France welcomed the singing of the Comprehensive Nuclear- Test-Ban Treaty, a turning point in the world's strategic balances.
He paid tribute to the work of the Commission on Human Rights, and noted France's contribution to the creation of the International Tribunal for Rwanda and the proposed establishment of an international criminal court. France, he continued, had welcomed the fact that the General Assembly last year adopted a resolution on multi-lingualism and noted the importance it ascribed to the French-speaking community. "We will not give this up", he said.
He said real prospects for progress were beginning to emerge in Africa, and he cited Africa's growth rate, "on the order of 5 per cent these past two
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years". France had reaffirmed the need to increase aid to the poorest countries, including a more generous treatment of their debt problem.
On the United Nations, he said that France approved of discussions on improving the representative character of the Security Council. Under the impetus of the Secretary-General, the Organization had embarked on a vast effort for structural reform, the first results of which were beginning to show. The European Union had put forward concrete proposals for overcoming the United Nations budget crisis; it was now up to all the States that had allowed their arrears to accumulate to assume their responsibilities.
AHMED ATTAF, Foreign Minister of Algeria, said the present international situation was complex, marked by persistent conflicts and an exacerbation of tensions. At the same time, the world economy was being transformed through globalization, which had indeed established new links. However, it had also had the perverse effect of increasing the dependence of many developing countries.
Lack of solidarity was still a characteristic of international relations, both in economic relations and security matters, he said. The rehabilitation of the General Assembly was essential, as was transparency and equitable representation on the Security Council. The dawning of a more stable international era required a common response, joint approaches, greater solidarity and effective commitment to combatting such threats as intolerance and extremism.
In response to international terrorism, an international response was beginning to emerge, he said. The chain of terrorism, including its perpetrators, those behind them, their sources, those financing them, must be dismantled. Regional frameworks for dialogue were essential for stable and balanced international relations. The tragedy of Bosnia and Herzegovina had been an example of the results of global indecision.
He said Algeria desired unity with its neighbours in the Maghreb, which would be the beginning of a just, lasting and peaceful settlement to the issue of Western Sahara. His country supported the holding of a credible referendum in that region. Machinery for conflict management and prevention should be put in place in Africa to reduce tensions and solve differences. Algeria was concerned about the situation in Burundi, which affected the entire Great Lakes region.
In Somalia, the people themselves had to make an effort, but the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the League of Arab States also had a responsibility to help them achieve reconciliation and develop national institutions, he said. In the Mediterranean, Algeria had worked for permanent frameworks of dialogue and cooperation, with a view to promoting regional stability.
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In the Middle East, Algeria supported the principle of land for peace, the application of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) and, respect for the rights of the Palestinian people. There was no alternative to the total withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab territories and to the right of the Palestinian people to establish a sovereign state, with Al-Quds as its capital.
On the subject of disarmament, he said Algeria had taken part in the writing and adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. It had ratified the Convention on Chemical Weapons and had signed, in March, an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
A true democratization of international relations required that the international community improve its ability for collective responses to the challenge of development, he said. Joint solutions should foster the sustained growth of the countries of the South. Imaginative solutions should be found for their debt problems and to promote their access to international financing.
He said Africa was dramatically troubled by poverty, disease and famine. It was politically intolerable to continue ignoring that crisis. Algeria fully supported the Secretary-General's initiative on Africa and called for its universal support.
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